Since 1974, the Anthony Nolan register has made 15,000 stem cell transplants possible but it’s still the case that only 60% of individuals in need of a transplant find the best possible life-saving match they need; this figure drops dramatically to just 20% if you are from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background.

On Sunday 19 February, NHS England gave a statement to the effect that it was “confident” it would soon be able to announce funding for second stem cell treatments for blood cancer patients who have relapsed.

A London woman who has been living with chronic leukaemia for twenty years is appealing for more South Asian people to register as stem cell donors.

Rajee Nedunchezhian, 33, of Newham in East London, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) at the age of twelve. Her condition has recently accelerated, meaning an urgent stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor is her best chance of a cure.

Blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan provided its 100th unit of umbilical cord blood on Monday – and has revealed that the potentially lifesaving blood was collected at Leicester Royal Infirmary. The news comes as the charity calls for more pregnant women in Leicester, Manchester and London to donate their cord and give life twice in one day.

The Minister for Public Health and Innovation, Nicola Blackwood MP, visited the Anthony Nolan Laboratories and Research Institute in Hampstead, West London yesterday to learn more about the charity’s pioneering work to save and improve the lives of people with blood cancer.

The family of a Tipton boy who received a stem cell transplant after a nationwide appeal for people to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register have met the donor who saved his life.

Five-year-old Gaurav Bains has been through more than some people ten times his age. At the age of just two he was diagnosed with Monosomy 7, a rare blood disorder that threatened to develop into aggressive childhood leukaemia. Gaurav’s best chance of life was a stem cell transplant, but sadly neither his parents, Gurprit and Sunny Bains, nor his sister Kiran were a match.

Aimee Read, 24, a nursery nurse from Edenfield in Manchester, is desperately searching for a stem cell donor for a second time.

Twenty-two years ago Aimee was diagnosed with leukaemia and was treated with chemotherapy. The cure worked successfully for a time, but the cancer returned when Aimee was four and she was told she needed a stem cell transplant. Following a frantic eight-month search, Aimee thankfully found a donor.